"Do you ever get the feeling to be old?" Jane asked as they sat on the couch, facing each other. Janes elbow rested on the back of the couch; her head was against her hand. Maura cautiously took a sip from her favorite red wine and glanced at Jane.
"I don't know. I mean, things are certainly not like they used to be when I was twenty, but old? Not really. Why?"
Jane gave her a thoughtful look while tilting the beer in her bottle unconsciously. "Lately I get the feeling to get old sometimes. Like with the radio station I started to listen. It's the one my mother listened to, when I was a child. Or physically. When I go for a run, I get the impression that im slower than I used to be. Then I like things like meeting with our neighbors, which I would have seen as boring."
Maura silently reached for her wife's hand and caressed it with her thumb. "I don't think that you're or that we are old. Life changes. That's normal. We are almost forty. And if you like the music playing on the radio or the comfortable afternoons its fine, isn't it?"
The brunette looked into the fire. "I guess so. But doesn't that scare you?"
Maura chuckled softly. "No, not at all. And maybe its less a question of getting old than a feeling to be at home and to have settled. Don't you think so?"
Jane drank some of her beer, mulling over the blonde's words. "Yeah, maybe." She admitted and a soft smile played around her lips as an unknown feeling of deep happiness filled her heart. Home, she thought, and gave a deep sigh.
When she looked at Maura, she saw a reflection of her smile, paired with kind hazel eyes. These moments had become some of Janes favorites. When they sat on the couch in the evening, talking, touching. Never in her live had she felt so close to someone like she did with Maura. And never had she felt such peace.
There was really no question of jumping from a bridge anymore, unless if it were for the kids or Maura. She also began to understand why family had always been so important for her mother. Thinking of which: "Ma's birthday will be in two weeks. I thought we might spend a weekend in Boston and surprise her."
If Maura was surprised, she didn't say so. Instead she agreed. "That's a wonderful idea. She will love it. Do you know if someone is planning a Party?"
"No, but I will call Frankie and ask him. Usually there is. You know how we Rizzoli's are." She chuckled. "First, I will check if I can get Friday and Monday off. Or at least one of these days."
"Yeah mee too. What kind of present would she like do you think?" Maura asked, not stopping the movement of her thumb.
"Aren't we present enough?" Jane snorted, putting her bottle onto the coffee table to move closer to the blonde who laughed.
"Jane!" Maura rolled her eyes not getting Janes joke right away. "We should get her a pasta maker or something like that. I'm sure she has none and that she would love to make her own pasta."
"Well, if you think so." The brunette said, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Have I ever told you how much I love you? You are such a wonderful and kind person. Sometimes I really ask myself how I could get so lucky." Her eyes dropped to their hands before she brought them to her mouth.
"No, you haven't. Not today anyways. But I sometimes ask myself the same question."
They smiled at each other, relaxing into the cushions. "Wanna watch TV?" Jane asked as she reached for the remote. "Your turn to choose tonight."
"Are you sure? You know, I might want to watch a documentary." Maura wiggled teasingly with her eyebrows. "Its fine." Jane said, getting to her feet to refill Maura's glass and fetch some snacks. When she settled back onto the couch, she found that Maura had chosen one of their DVD's – the pirates of the Caribbean.
"Nice." Jane commented as she lifted her arm, so that Maura could snuggle up and rest her head on her shoulder. While Maura's feet were neatly tucked under her body while Jane stretched her long, tanned legs out onto the coffee table. She was still wearing her shorts from the afternoon which had been quite warm. It mesmerized the brunette how Maura kept looking at them as if she couldn't get enough of their sight. Jane felt safe to assume that these were the body parts the blonde found the most attractive on her and she chuckled at the realization.
While Maura enjoyed her legs, she found them quite annoying sometimes to be honest. For example, when taking a commercial plane, or when sitting in a sports car she often didn't know where or how to situate them, that they won't hurt after a while.
"A penny for your thoughts." Maura stated and moved so that she could look at her.
"Uhm, nothing important. I have just let my mind go off a bit." Jane smiled and kissed Maura onto her forehead. Both looked up, when they heard footsteps coming into the room.
"Ma, mommy? I'm so thirsty." Sophie said with a tiny voice, her lips were trembling, and Jane could see that she was shaking too.
Both walked over. "Does anything else hurt, honey?" Maura asked while putting the back of her hand to the girl's forehead. Jane who had crouched down took her tiny hand in hers and felt the feverish heat immediately.
"My throat aches too." Sophie said, squeezing Janes hand. "I'll get you back to bed and we make you some tea, okay sweetheart?" the brunette said knowing that the little blonde was by now too heavy for Maura to carry because she had grown quite a bit over the last year. But Sophie tilted her head, saying no. "Can I come with you and watch TV?"
"Sure, honey. Do you want to see something special?"
"Can we watch Winnie the poop?" Sophie asked, her index finger in her mouth. None of them corrected her and said that it was Winnie poo, seeing as to how tired and feverish the poor girl was.
They nodded in agreement. Jane took Sophie to the couch and covered her with a blanket and started to look for the DVD while Maura busied herself making tea and finding some homeopathic meds.
Afterwards they settled back onto the couch with Sophie sitting in between them. Jane hoped that Julia hadn't caught whatever this was and wouldn't get ill too the next day. But there was no such luck as they found out the next morning.
Sophie had fallen asleep quickly when watching Winnie poo and Jane had carried her into her room. When they had awoken to a silent house the next morning, they knew that the girls had it both. Because usually they rose before them and they could hear them playing early in the morning.
A look into the girl's rooms confirmed their worst fears. Both were down with fever and sore throat.
"I could call Cavanaugh and ask him for a day off. It shouldn't be a problem." The brunette stated when Maura prepared tea and breakfast. "That would be great. But if you want, I can stay too. One of my colleagues can cover my shift."
At the end they both stayed at home. Jane being on call though, as one of her colleagues got ill too.
It turned out to be a lazy day, with holding hands, reading, cooking tea, watching Disney movies and a lot of snuggles. Fortunately, Jane wasn't called in until the evening.
She shot a look towards the couch, where Maura sat with two sleeping girls before grabbing her gear and leaving the house. The blonde held both in their arms and turned her head to smile at Jane before she was gone.